I'm leasing from cr england. 2nd time around. I did a 6 month demo last year, then tried schneider before being fired for falsifying my application, supposedly. I went back to cr england got a 2009 century with only 8 months left on the lease. That means I pay 9 cents on variable miles pay instead of 14 cents if you get a newer truck. I am happy with what I'm making at this point, but trying to keep cr england out of my pockets i opted out of their equinox accounting service. I had asked them last year to send me paperwork on what they did as they did my taxes, but never received any paperwork or anything so i could see what that involved. Never mind what my rights are, I have learned they will do what they want anyways so the least I can do is not pay them for crappy service. I am used to doing my own personal taxes, I think I can do the taxes involved with the truck. Please let me know what that involves. I am putting aside 15% of my income to pay for them. Am I required to make quarterly payments? Or would it be ok to do them at year's end? What forms do I need and where do I pick them up?
Any computer programs I can find that would allow me to do that? I have used H&R Block online on personal taxes but I couldn't find anything on this. I apologize for sounding naive but any info would be appreciated

I do my own taxes, but I'm from Canada with completely different tax laws than yours. The only advice I'll give is DON'T use H&R Block. Their guarantee that your tax return will be correct or they'll pay if you owe more money means that they won't deduct anything in a "grey" area.

Get an accountant. You will need ALL of your weekly settlements. Your 1099 will include all your income even the $$ that you never see. I know that England likes to report that income both when you made it (though it was put in to your savings account) and when you get paid out that money when you leave. That is basically reporting that $$ twice. Your accountant will know how to legally report this so that you aren't paying taxes on the same money multiple times.

Is it legal? Probably not, but as you stated, they do what they like. You just have to deal with it. Don't use H& R block, use someone that skilled handling transportation tax returns. Thats my best advice.

My second best is to keep all your receipts, CAT, scales, equipment,fuel and your entertainment . Your accountant can prepare for you quarterly payment coupons. Of course there are always exceptions but it can't hurt you to make your quarterly payments.

Thats about it. Drive safe.

If you want to keep your own records you can either use a spreadsheet or buy one of the trucking specific software packages. I like Trucknpro. It is simple to use and inexpensive. www.trucknpro.com. There are others, but this one is very easy to understand and use. Truckers Helper also has a software package, but is a little more complex according to some with whom I have spoken. www.truckershelper.com. Another that I am familiar is Easy Trucking. www.easytrucking.com. All three have either a free trial or demo you can check out online.

Thank you GMAN, Sharlie and Barf so far. I will try the software packages. I also went to the irs website and got the worksheets to see if i will be required to make the quarterly payments. I probably will use an accountant but i will also try to work things out on my own on the worksheets to see how close i can get, so i can learn.

Doesn't hurt to learn what you can, it is still good to have a professional to support you as you start out. Our accountant told me things that helped to optimized when to purchase, what things I can write off, what I can't. Sure you can hope Golfhobo with recite the complicated tax code with his interpretation but that may not be reliable.
My accountant fielded questions to me all year long, prepared my return, and each new year sent me a booklet with annual year comparisons. He also sent me out important changes that I should be aware of. All for about 350.00, compare that to the cost of expensive software and what cheap o H & R would run you, its worth it, imo.

Keep us posted,
~S

Keeping very detailed records is critical. Use an accountant to start out. Later, as you learn more and increase your comfort level, using something like Turbo Tax Online is indeed an option. You just have to have a good grasp of what you are doing at that point. And it does a pretty good job. I had a situation where Turbo Tax even bested my accountant. That would be rare, but Turbo Tax Online stays up to date pretty well with tax regs. Not so much the software versions available at the stores.

I like using spreadsheets that I can do relational work within. I like the ability to tailor them to exactly what I need and want. But that is not a good option for some. GMan knows what he is talking about, and his recommendations may work better for you.

Will go with an accountant, thank you.

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